Build Your Library vs BookShark
The main differences
Both plan a year around real books over 36 weeks. Build Your Library sells the plan alone, as a PDF of lesson plans for $39.95 a level, with Charlotte Mason narration and copywork, and you buy or borrow the books and add your own math. BookShark ships the guides and the books together in an all-subject package that includes math and handwriting, at $1,040.94 for Level C on sale. The choice is mostly how much of the gathering you want to do yourself.
| Build Your Library | BookShark | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | All subjects: language arts, science and history and geography | All subjects: math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography |
| Grades | Level 0 (kindergarten) to Level 12 (12th grade) | Levels Pre-K to J plus high school levels, ages 4 to 18 (about pre-K to 12th grade) |
| Method | Literature-based, Charlotte Mason | Literature-based |
| Format | Books and workbooks | Books and workbooks |
| Faith label | Secular | Secular |
| Cost a year | $39.95. Level 3 (The Early Modern World) lesson plans, a 302-page PDF with a 36-week schedule, reading list, narration cards, activity pages and science lessons: $39.95. The books are bought or borrowed separately, and math is not included. | $1,040.94. Level C All-Subject Package (ages 7 to 9, grades 2 to 4) with required resources (instructor's guides, history, science and reading books, language arts, handwriting, Math-U-See Beta, timeline book, map and binder): $1,040.94, 20% off $1,301.18. Without the required resources it is $925.77. |
| Placement | Level, grade and age chart ↗ | Free placement tests ↗ |
| Parent time | Not stated by the publisher | Not stated by the publisher |
| It fits | A family that wants a book-centered year planned for them at low cost, with time to read aloud together. | A family that wants a fully planned, book-based year with a free fifth day, and likes siblings sharing history and science. |
| It doesn't fit | A family that wants math included, printed teacher guides, or a box that arrives with every book. | A family on a tight budget, or one that wants workbook drills or video teaching instead of reading and discussion. |
Build Your Library
Build Your Library is a literature-based curriculum with Charlotte Mason methods, sold as one PDF of lesson plans per level from kindergarten to 12th grade. Each level follows a history theme, and the plans give a daily and weekly schedule for 36 weeks with a reading list, narration cards, copywork, vocabulary, poetry memorization, timeline figures, mapwork, science lessons and art projects. You buy or borrow the books yourself, add your own math, and may want separate spelling and grammar programs.
Does well: A full year of lesson plans costs $39.95, so most of the spending goes to books, which you can also borrow from a library.
Watch for: Math is not included, and you may need separate spelling and grammar programs.
BookShark
BookShark is a literature-based curriculum organized by levels rather than grades: history, science and language arts are taught through read-alouds, readers and other real books, on a 36-week, 4-day schedule set out in instructor's guides. An all-subject package for one child includes the guides, the books, language arts, handwriting, science and a math program, plus optional online access for reading schedules and auto-graded assessments. Levels run from pre-K (ages 4 to 5) to high school.
Does well: Instructor's guides plan 36 weeks on a 4-day schedule, leaving a fifth day free, with answer keys, discussion questions and background notes.
Watch for: A Level C all-subject package costs over $900 even at 20% off.
Lists with both
- Homeschool all-in-one curricula 22
- Secular homeschool curricula 30
- Literature-based homeschool curricula 12
- Homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 48
- Homeschool curricula for middle school 51
- Homeschool curricula for high school 38
- Print homeschool curricula 44
- Secular homeschool all-in-one curricula 8
How we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money. Every program compared